Since I live in the middle of no where, I have always used RSSC air. I must pay the $100 deviation because I am not near one of their 80+ cities that they fly from so I can control my flights to some degree. But we have relatively few fights from Lubbock, TX and RSSC generally picks the flights I would pick and their price is competitive because all flights from here are terribly expensive (except Southwest which doesn't go anywhere I want to go). I have gotten frequent flyer miles when RSSC puts me on American (only really have American and Continental available).

I can't use free tickets because I don't get enough miles. I need to keep 1 or 2 free tickets in reserve for the rather frequent funerals it seems that I must attend on short notice (once a year).